So Mat soon brought his story to a conclusion, being also anxious to hear the strangers’ account of themselves, and of colonial matters generally.
As Mat’s narrative was brought to a close, the younger stranger knocked the ashes out of his pipe, and said,—
“Now I’ll tell you about ourselves. My name is Carew, and my mate’s name is Terry. We came out about two years ago, as ‘new chums,’ to a station on the ‘Downs,’ but—well, there wasn’t much going on, and it didn’t suit, so we are looking out for a bit of country up here for ourselves; and Burns, that’s the boss—”
“Burns!” interrupted Mat, “why, that’s the man I had a letter to, I do believe.”
“Now you mention it,” continued Carew, “I remember Burns said that he had been expecting a new chum out years ago; he often referred to it. The ship was called the Austral, I think. She was signalled off Hobart Town, and has never been heard of from that day to this. I see it all; you must be the man whom he was looking out for. I remember now, he said that steamers were sent everywhere to look for the ship. I’ll tell you what I’ll do. I’ll lend you one of our boys to put you on the direct track for Burns’ station, and you shall take a second letter to him. My eye, won’t he be astonished!
“By-the-bye, the other chap, who’s always in that tent, and generally drunk, looks a bad lot, drunk or sober; I can’t tell you anything about him, excepting that his name is Boyd, he has an awful scar on his face, caused in some drunken row probably; we came across him on the road, riding a thoroughbred-looking horse—stolen I expect; he forced his company on us, and we shall be glad when he goes, and now I vote we turn in.”
Dromoora and his wife felt more at home after they had been for a few hours in the company of their dark brethren. They even, at length, summoned up courage to stroke the horses, causing much laughter by asking what the big kangaroos ate? whether the white men ate them? And many remarks of a like nature, all of which were interpreted to the strangers.
After they had spelled for three days, the camp was broken up; Carew and Terry to go north, the brothers and their party south.
Carew had packed a horse with rations for the brothers, giving them some “notes” as well, so that they would be able to purchase clothes, in time to be decently rigged out before they entered the district of the Darling Downs.
Mat thanked his newly-found friends for their generosity, and promised to repay the money as soon as he could make a little; he then gave them directions where to find some of the good cattle country, through which he had lately been travelling. The parties bid good-bye, mutually pleased with each other, and a quarter of an hour later the camp was lost to sight.